Feeler



G. M. ARRAGG Dec. 25, 1934.

FEELER l Filed 'April e, 1933 Patented Dec. 25, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FEELER George M. Arragg, Lawrence, Mass., assignor to Arlington Mills, Lawrence, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 6, 1933, Serial No. 664,753V

Claims.

Avide a guide eye which will not accidentally become unthreaded and which can be readily rethreaded, when necessary. To these ends, the present invention comprises the feeler hereinafter described and particularly denedin the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a plan View on an enlarged scale of the preferred form of feeler; Fig. 2 is a side elevation; Fig. 3 is a front elevation with the parts disassembled; Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 1;l and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the guide in open position.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a back plate 6, and a base 8 hinged thereto, to permit lifting of the feeler for access to the bobbin. Mounted on the base is a box 10 having a cover 11. A hook-like guide 12 is attached to and extends forward from the under side of the box. The front end 13 of the box receives a wear plate 14, which is provided at the sides with upstanding wings 15 and at the center with a bent-back tab 16 to t over the edge of the front 13. In the rear end of the box is an electrical contact 17 which is insulated from the box. A feeler lever 18 is pivotally mounted on the wear plate 14 and is normally held in the position shown in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 1 by the yarn or roving 19 which passes downwardly from the delivery rolls to the bobbin, as described in my prior patent above referred to. Upon breakage of the yarn, the lever moves by gravity to the position shown in full lines and a spring contact 20 at the rear thereof engages the contact 17, thereby completing an electric circuit to initiate operation of the stop mechanism. One side of the circuit is connected to the fixed contact 17, and the other side is grounded to the frame.

'I'he feeler lever 18 comprises a thin plate to which is attached the spring contact 20, both the feeler and the contact having registering slots 22 to receive a bolt 24. The bolt secures the contact to the plate and also serves to weight the rear end of the feeler. The contact is secured to the upper face of the feeler and has a rear downtumed tab to engage the xed contact 17. The lever is provided with slits 25 at opposite sides to receive the wings 15 ot the front wear plate 14.

At the front end, the lever is formed with an incomplete guide loop 26 enclosing av central space 28 which accommodates a guide eye- A thin exible top plate 30 is pivoted at 32 near the end of the loop 26. The plate 30 is of incomplete 5 circular form, and normally overlaps the bottomplate, as shown in Fig. 1. Attached to the plate 26- is a detent pin 34 to be received in a hole 36 of the top plate when the latter is in operative position. The bottom plate 26 is slightly crimped 10 or offset, as indicated at 38, so that the upper surfaces of the top and bottom plates are substantially flush. The top plate receives a porcelain guide eye 40 which has a narrow slot 42 extending from a central opening to the periph- 15 ery, the slot being flared at the outer end. The slot 42 aligns with the edge 43 of the top plate 30 and also with the crimped part of the plate 26, when the plates are closed, as shown in Fig. 4.

The eye is formed with an annular retaining 20 groove 44 to be engaged by the plates 30 and 26. A projection 46 is provided in the groove 44 to fitin a positioning notch 48 of the top plate 30.

' Io assemble the feeler, the top'plate 30 is swung outwardly into the position of Fig. 5, the eye is 25 then inserted with the projection 46 engaging in the notch 48. The top plate 30 is then rotated in a clockwise direction, the plates being sprungv suiilciently to permit the eye to pass the outer portion 50 of the lever. Continued rotation brings 30 the eye to central position, as shown in Fig. l, with the plates locked by the' detent pin 34. The plates may be easily opened to permit replacement of the eye, whenever necessary.

The threading operation is accomplished by taking the yarn from the under side as it leads upwardly from 'the bobbin, starting it in the notch-like space 52- between the top plate and the feeler lever, and then passing it spirally through the passage between the top plate and the lever until it nds its way into the slot 42. During the threading operation, the yarn springs the plates apart slightly, as shown in Fig. 4. It will be observed that the opening 28 of the guide is peculiarly shaped to facilitate entrance of the yarn into the eye. It has a circular edge portion 54 which engages the annular groove 44 of the eye, and which terminates adjacent' to the crimped part 38 of the bottom plate. From this point, the opening enlarges to form a space 56 50 which is of greater size than the eye to provide a passage through which the'thread passes directly to the slot 42.

The feeler of the present invention is positive and reliable in action, and -its action is unaffected 55 by vibrations' in the machine. The balance of the lever may be readily adjusted by varying the position of the bolt 24 in the slots 22.

The Ieeler is easily threaded whenever necessary and cannot become accidentally unthreaded. In operation, there is no appreciable wear on the yarn by its passage over the smooth surface o! the e e 4o.

yThe only part likely to become worn is the plate 14. When the wing portions 15 become weakened by engagement with the feeler under the iniluence of vibrations ot the machine, a new wear plate is easily installed.

Having thus -described claimed is:

the invention, what is 1. A Ieeler for a stop motion comprising a lever,

a plate pivoted on the lever, the lever and plate having central openings, and an ,eyehaving an annular `groove to receive the edges of the lever and the plate, the lever and plate lying against each other and"having non-coincident passages leading to the eye. l

2. A yarn guide comprising a bottom plate formed at the front 'end with a loop, a top plate of incomplete circular shape pivoted on the bot-v tom plate and adapted to be turned outwardly `from th'bottom plate, aneye having an annular Lacasse groove to receive the edges of the plates, the

plates denning a spiral passage to the eye, and

the eye having a slot leading from said passage.

3. A yarn guide comprising overlapping bottom and top plates, each formed in incomplete circular shape, the top plate being pivoted at the end of the bottom plate, and an eye engaged by the plates, the plates lying against each other and having non-coincident passages leading to the eye.

4. A yarn guide comprising a bottom plate, a top plate pivoted thereto, and a slotted eye held by the plates, one of the'plates being crimped to make the surfaces of the two plates substantially ush adjacent to the slot of the eye.

5. A- yarn guide comprising a bottom plate of incomplete loop form enclosing a central opening and having a passage leading thereto, an eye received in the opening and having a slot, the opening being enlarged around one portion of the eye to lead yarn rto the slot, vand a top plate engaging the eye and having one end terminating adjacent to the slot to provide a passage leading to the eye, the passages ot the top and bottom plates being non-coincident.

asoman u. Annaud. 

